The workshop by Father Joe Pereira, held on Sept 21, 22 and 23 2018, at the Sunseed Yoga Studio in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, was enthusiastically attended by over 60 devoted students of yoga in the Iyengar tradition from the Greater Toronto area and from as far as away as California, Milwaukee, & Wisconsin, USA.
Students were thrilled to meet and be taught first hand by Father Joe, who was a direct student (over 40 years) of Guruji Iyengar, and dear friend of Mother Teresa.
Father Joe shared his incredible knowledge and practical insight through his lifelong personal yoga practice, instructing Asana and Pranayama, and the accompanying philosophy of Patanjali and B.K.S. Iyengar, and insights gained from his lifetime work as a Catholic priest. He also shared information related to the success of the Kripa Foundation, a charity he founded originally in India, to help those with addictions move beyond their difficulties through the dedicated practice of yoga.
At the Sunseed Workshop students were not only taught the physical intricacies of each Asana, but the accompanying philosophical purpose(s) as well as health (mental, physical and emotional) value of each pose.
In the Saturday afternoon and Sunday practice, students were instructed in preparation asana to be done before pranayama. Subsequently, Father Joe taught specific pranayama practices which are of benefit to specific conditions.
Father Joe continually emphasized that all of the practice should be dedicated to a lifetime of devotion to yogic principles. He taught us how yogic practices integrate into a spiritual life from any religious or spiritual background.
He reminded us that yoga is NOT a physical exercise but a way of life dedicated to self awareness, and eventual Samhadi.
He also reminded us that particularly in North America, we need to understand and teach others that Asana is just one piece of a much larger lifetime devotional practice.
A Report by:
Jim Pope
Sunseed Yoga
Collage by:
Newsdesk
